Republican Party Vision

Let’s be straight. The American Republican Party is one of the great enemies of planet Earth’s natural systems. Yesterday, in Paris, representatives of 195 nations, including the United States, approved a landmark climate deal. The Paris accord binds each of the 195 approving nations to reduce carbon emissions and take other steps to hold down global warming that imperils civilization as we know it.

The reaction of leaders of the Party of Darkness was immediate. Mitch McConnell, the Republican from Kentucky who holds office as the Senate majority leader, said, referring to Democratic President Obama who supported the climate change negotiations and the concluded deal:

“Before his international partners pop the champagne, they should realize that this is an unattainable deal based on a domestic energy plan that is likely illegal, that half the states have sued to halt, and that Congress has voted to reject.”

Each of the current front-running Republican presidential candidates deny that human activities, such as burning massive amounts of fossil fuel coal, oil and natural gas, are primarily responsible for the emerging climate changes the Earth is already experiencing. Should one of them be elected President in 2016, commitments made under President Obama to slow carbon emissions will presumably be ignored or reversed. Other countries will likely follow the negative American lead and continue to poison the planet as usual.

Is there hope? Sure. Americans and others have responded with aggressive actions before to large crises (read Pearl Harbor). Perhaps there will be a public opinion earthquake before negative feedback loops in natural systems make limiting carbon emissions useless.